Fri 16 Feb 2007
Abuse of authority by CISCO Traffic Warden
Posted by Kevin under Thinking Aloud, Popular
Inspired by the recent handphone video clip uploaded to Youtube.con entitled “Abuse of authority by Singapore Bus Service Traffic Wardens“, I’ve decided to share my little collection so as to bring about the awareness of the constant abuse of authority by traffic enforcement officers themselves. I also like to highlight that any traffic offences they have committed should not go unpunished.
Here is the case of a repeat offender, a CISCO officer.
I’ve taken a number of photos of illegally parked CISCO motocycles in the same area. I’m very sure it’s the same CISCO traffic warden committing the offence.
It was always illegally parked around the same area with double yellow lines. On one occassion, 2 minority race teenagers shouted towards the lower floor of a HDB flat attempting to alert the CISCO officer when I took some photos. They try to stop me and even raise their fist displaying a threatening pose.
I’m very certain the CISCO warden was not on duty, but rather went home for personal matters.
I’ve taken more than 25 photos over a period of 2 mths and for two occassions, the illegally parked motorcycle was there for an extended period of time i.e. I saw it when I went out and it’s still there when I came home.
Those 2 offences were committed on 22 Dec 2006 and 31 Dec 2006.
22/12/2006 @ 20:04
No. plate: FS 6762 Z
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Both number plates were different, but I have my reason to believe it’s the same CISCO officer. I urge CISCO to check and verify the indentity of the offender and made know to the member of the public and myself the punishment given. If I do not hear from CISCO within 7 days, a former police report will be made.
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31/12/2006 @ 13:03No. plate: FS 6774 P |
I cannot tolerate such abuse of authority by Traffic enforcement officers and I urge all Singaporeans to harness the power of your digital cameras and make citizen report via any new media you are comfortable with.
I also like to solicitate views & comments from readers of this post.
Do you think traffic enforcement officer should be punished for committing traffic offence?
Have you seen similiar traffic offence committed by them on the roads of Singapore?
PS: I have notified Paul Chong, CEO of CISCO and Richard LIM Cher Khin - Head Investigation & Violation Reports (Singapore Traffic Police) about the above mentioned incidents and waiting for their reply.
February 16th, 2007 at 7:29 pm
He who lives by the sword dies by the sword…so it shall come to pass that this idiotic traffic warden shall have to suffer the same fate that he so imposed on others..
February 17th, 2007 at 3:04 am
Yes, definitly traffic enforcement officers must be punished duly if they commit traffic offences.
In this case, this may be more than a mere traffic violation. Are Cisco officers allowed to drive their vehicles home? Are Cisco officers allowed to have such “time-off” or “home-visitation breaks” during work hours?
While I’m all for family-friendly organizations, if such breaks are the norm in Cisco, they deserve to be in the headlines for being the foremost runner.
Could it be such a culture, legitimate or not, that leads officers to work fast and furious in dishing out summons, on top of quotas and commisions? If so, the rest of us should re-examine how MNCs are run and take a clue from them.
Keep us posted in this forum. We want to know how Cisco is going to handle the matter.
We are people with a heart. If there are real compassionate grounds for the acts, good enough. But honesty must prevail.
Let justice be done and seen done.
February 17th, 2007 at 9:15 am
Yes, they should be punish for their offences.
I have personally witnessed a uniformed Traffic Police parking his motorcyle next to 4 CISCO motorcycles along the double yellow lines and joined them for breakfast in a Prata store. I had to park my car 300 meters away to enjoy the same prata.
They should NOT abuse the authority entrusted upon them. Not for personal meal and private matters. Did the guy you mentioned actually when home to sleep during his working hours?
February 17th, 2007 at 5:31 pm
“raise their fist displaying a threatening pose.”
criminal intimidation?
February 18th, 2007 at 9:17 pm
Wah, fierce.
Micah 6:8 “He has showed you, O man, what is good.And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God”
Do remember that while there is justice, there is also mercy.
While the said CISCO officer might have done wrong, your actions might cause him to lose his job. If he loses his job, who will feed his aging mother, wife and three school-going kids?
Perhaps he might not have realized he was doing something wrong? Did you consider leaving a note for him on the offending vehicle to give him a chance to change his ways before complaining to the CEO of CISCO?
It is CNY and probably no one is working.
If you decided to retract your complaint, perhaps it might not be too late?
Warmest Regards and Happy CNY!
February 19th, 2007 at 1:58 pm
Monster <== Yes. We should expect higher standard from law enforcement officer themselves.
Jo <== I'm pro-family too, but like you I do not agree with lazy working attitudes & 'Home-visits' during office hours. There could be family emergencies, but not with such frequencies. The main concern is the traffic offences. The laws of the land should be exercise first. Will keep you posted about their reply if any.
Dex <== It's anybody's guess what he did at home, but it's the breaking of traffic rules that need to be taken care of. What he did during office hours should be handled by the company.
Richie <== Criminal intimidation? Hmmmm...Fierce yes, but they are teenasgers and I won't be too concern, except that they were learning how to start the motor of a private motorcycle. I do not think they have a rider's license.
Kway Teow Man <== I understand your point of view. However, a traffic offender needs to be judged under the laws of the land.
It’s the duty of every citizens to report crimes and about law breakers. I started raising concern about the mismanagement within NKF since 1997-98. It took 9-10 years to reveal just some truths. Should I have being more merciful?
Frankly, it’s my wish for such CISCO officers be taken off the road, but the decision remains in the hands of the management of the company.
As for the CISCO officer, my Nov 2006 photo taking session (5 photos) before the watchful eyes of the 2 teenagers who knows him or are related to him was the best warning given. That was before the above photos where taken.
Didn’t the Govt. reported about the hundred of thousands of jobs created last year? I’m sure some of these jobs are suitable for somebody with a rider license.
February 19th, 2007 at 4:31 pm
I am all for crushing down on law-enforcement personnel whom abuse their authority. If it were corruption by any office-holder in Parliament, we would expect nothing less than a shamed resignation. I don’t believe the brush should stroke differently because these people are not in the limelight.
February 19th, 2007 at 5:57 pm
Hi Kevin,
“De Rao Ren, Jie Rao Ren”.
While I cannot dis-agree you with you that one should be judged under the laws of the land, I like to point out to you that the laws of our land are so encompassingly wide and its enforcement so “discretionally” catching that literally all individuals can be hauled up and inconvenienced to answer to the laws of our land.
Now for your case cited, it’s not as obvious an abuse as the other incident in the Youtube where obvious presumptousness and haughtiness in action (not demeanour) by that two traffic warden who had been merciless and non-discretional in issuing summons to the SUV with a personnel(owner’s wife) in car and in sight. What I do sense is that you’re annoyed with the state of affair in the traffic-enforcement as entrusted by the Cisco officers, which by the natural state of this security business in singapore, ended up being taken up mostly by a certain by minority sector, who also happen to face tremendous odds just like the poor and out group of people in the majority sector.
I, for one, do not think such traffic wardens are highly paid subjected to market pricing and more so under sub-contract basis. Given so, it’s so natural that such officers can over-step their bounds in not sticking strictly to every nooks and corners of the law and probably gave themselves some pats on their shoulders that at least they do have power in the midst of their struggles, over their vehicles and times in duties.
I do not condone the fact of officers knowingly abusing the power at the “expense” of some other “victims” without exercising due decency and consideration, but I would tend to give benefit of doubts in other circumstances on such officers who happen to be just like you and me, a component element in our encompassing environment.
A more fundamental issue is the aspect of the system of law and society at hand that justifies in the sub-contracting of enforcement of car-parking “mis-deeds” (is this law?) from the basis of cost-accounting mixed up with law-ordering!
“De Rao Ren, Jie Rao Ren”
February 19th, 2007 at 11:56 pm
Good for you. Just take the photos or videos and post it at youtube. When ST launches STOMP they showed the way. Have no pity for these bastards. Once I parked my car and saw them, press my remote, it beeped. When I reached my car, the warden was putting the ticket on my windshield. Ask him if he saw me and heard the beep. All he did was to say “I have keyed it in, cannot cancel”. So people out there with your camera phones, Just take the photo or vid and when they ask why you are taking the pictures, smiled and say “I’m doing my duty as a law-abiding citizen”.
Initially I do not want to buy any camera phones, but now I realised it is essential. Getting one for myself. Thanks STOMP for showing the way.
February 20th, 2007 at 9:00 am
Wah, Kevin..you terror ah! Give ultimatum to CISCO some more! If they dont take action how? You charge them in court issit? Or the Netizens unite to shame them until they cannot tahan issit?
February 20th, 2007 at 11:59 am
Good job!!
February 21st, 2007 at 3:43 pm
Hi there, a reader submitted this to our website.
February 21st, 2007 at 6:57 pm
Good job indeed …I also have a lobang of abusive CISCO/Police/Prison officers smoking the contrabands openly outside Sembawang Prison/DRC…go with your video-tapes to get them ….
February 22nd, 2007 at 12:03 pm
woahahahah….you caught him red-handed lor……let see what sort of excuses they are going to give you?
February 22nd, 2007 at 1:00 pm
I think this is the earthquake that will unleash a tsunami against the abuse of authority that we often face. I am willing to consolidate and organise coordinated feedback to the relevant authorities based on the information I receive from the public and netizens. I can be reached via my blog or at teo.lee.fong(at)gmail.com
March 7th, 2007 at 10:21 am
Read latest news in my blogspot to reply TP letter dated 28 Feb 2007 at http://parkingtrafficfineswardens.blogspot.com/
Many times we hear TP will take appropriate “action” against lawless parking wardens but we DON’T know what “action” they are talking about because it not revealed in details like types of punishment and fines… They are no different from a criminal because they knew the law and the same law they abused it and to tarnish the Police and TP reputation.
July 14th, 2007 at 11:56 am
This reflects the discipline and poor quality of the people in CISCO. Maybe because their company’s management is dominated by ex-army personnel, they think that the whole world belong to them and they can do whatever they please.
September 30th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
Hey,
i am so inspired by what you did about to these wardens. Hope they’ve heavily penalized!
do you know if they are allowed to park in say, designated lots (for free) for extended periods while doing their jobs (well, problem is who knows if they are not).